


What If

by larry_evak



Series: Billionaire Husbands [5]
Category: Batman (Movies - Nolan), Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Justice League - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, BAMF Bruce Wayne, BAMF Clark Kent, BAMF Lois Lane, BAMF Tony Stark, Bruce Wayne Feels, Bruce Wayne is Batman, Canon Divergence, Civil War Team Iron Man, Dark Bruce Wayne, Hurt Tony Stark, Husbands, M/M, Not Steve Friendly, Protective Bruce Wayne, Rich - Freeform, Sokovia Accords, Tony Angst, Tony Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Wanda Is A Bitch
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-27
Updated: 2017-09-03
Packaged: 2018-12-07 17:00:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11627910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/larry_evak/pseuds/larry_evak
Summary: Would Civil War have been different if Bruce Wayne was on the side of Tony? If yes, then how different?





	1. Civil War

**Author's Note:**

> First of all, huge apologies for late update. I can't believe how disappointed I feel. 
> 
> -
> 
> None of the characters belong to me.

“Hey Tony, this is Bruce. I want you to call me as soon as you get this. It’s very important. Just… just call back.” Tony saw Bruce had left a voice mail just after talking to Ross who had given him 36 hours to capture the rest of the Avengers? The Rogues? Steve and the Cronies? Whatever. Bruce sounded tense. He decided to call him. Maybe he will be able to get his mind off the mess.

Bruce picked up just after one ring.

“Hey love, you called. Is everything alright? You sounded tense.” Tony could hear Bruce inhale sharply at that. 

“Listen Tony, where are you now? What is going on your front? I need you to come back. If you can’t, I’d get there. I need to tell you something. It’s urgent.”

“You are scaring me B. Are you hurt?” Dread settled in, if there is one thing he is incapable to deal with, it was Bruce being hurt. 

“No love, I’m fine. Just tell me, what is going on and if you can come back?”

“Ross has given me thirty six hours to capture Rogers, Barnes and Wilson, I fear they might try something so I am coming to New York to get that Spiderling.” Tony would have preferred someone who is not a teenager but getting the League or the X-Men involved in the Avengers business would not be good for future, publicity and all that shit, so he decided to go for the third party.

“New York? Before you go to meet him, I want you to come to the Tower. I will meet you there.”

“Bruce tell me, is everything alright? Baby, you are scaring me. Please.”

“I am fine and I will meet you at the Tower. Just get there.”

By the tone of Bruce’ voice, Tony was sure something was wrong. Things were already bad and he knew Bruce wouldn’t have called Tony back had whatever he wanted to say been something he could have dealt with easily. Situation must have been really dire and something akin to dread was settling in his stomach. He just hopes Bruce is unharmed.

~*~

Bruce was there when he landed at the Tower. He had a somber look on his face which made Tony’ nerves jump up even more. The bad feeling he had on the way to New York intensified tenfold for some unknown reason. 

Bruce stood up when he saw Tony and led him to the couch. He had a protective arm around Tony as if he could protect him from what he was about to tell him. 

“I… Uh, I started to gather intel on Barnes after the blast and… I found… Tony listen, I know… I won’t expect you to be calm but… please don’t make any rash decision after… just…”

Tony had never heard Bruce talk like that. He was always confident and calm in any situation. He was certain of what he said but this, this was unnerving. It was so unlike Bruce that he almost did not even want to know. Almost.

“B, what is it?”

“Barnes, or rather Winter Soldier killed your parents.” Bruce said in a rush. Silence rang in the room after that. Tony’s face lost all color. He could not believe that for a second. But it was Bruce who said it, he would never lie, at least never to Tony, not about something this important. 

“I asked my contacts as I was trying to gather information on Winter Soldier and I found a video, he was sent there to retrieve the Super Soldier Serum and he killed your parents. It was not an accident.”

And he retched. He spilled all of his breakfast on the rug. His parents’ faces swam before his eyes. All this time he believed it was Howard’ fault, that he killed his mom. He fucking hated that man for this. All his life. It felt like the world tilted on its axis. His life could have been completely different. He would have had his mom but Barnes took her away. His mom. It feels like losing his parents all over again.

“I am going to kill him. I am going to kill that son of a bitch.” Hot anger burned in his veins, the desire to avenge his mother was the only thing he could feel other than utter despair. He concentrated on anger, otherwise he will break down crying. Is this how Bruce felt? Is this how T’Challa felt?

“Let it out Tony. Let yourself grieve. Cry.” Bruce tightened his arms around Tony and whispered in his ears, his voice soothing.

And the tears streamed down his face. All the grief, the pain, he let it out. He cried for his mom. He cried for Howard too. He was a shit father but he was Tony’ father nonetheless. He cried for what it could have been. What he couldn’t have given to have his mother’ arms around him, to have her hold his face in her hand and caress his hair. He used to lie down in her lap and she would run her fingers through his hair. What he wouldn’t give to have it once more. Barnes took it away. 

“He killed my mom. I-I thought…” 

“It’ll be okay. I’m here. I’m here.”

Tony buried his face in Bruce’ neck. Bruce’ arms were like a security blanket, he was Tony’ center in the middle of the storm. 

After a while he calmed down a little bit. By now they both were lying on the couch with Tony’ head firmly on Bruce’ chest and his arms were holding Tony tight against him. 

“He was brainwashed…” Bruce started.

“I don’t care. He killed my mom.”

“He was tortured, a prisoner of war. He was merely a part of HYDRA’ arsenal. He was more or less a robot at that time. Just think about it.”

“I don’t think I am capable of thinking at this point. Just hold me.”

~*~

“I think you might be right.”

“Might be? I am always right. Though, pray tell, what I am right about?” 

They had been lying down for a while. Tony did not know how much time had passed but he got some time to think despite was he said to Bruce and he knew Bruce was right, as usual.

“Haha very funny, you know what I am talking about. Barnes. He was innocent in all of this. Do you think Rogers knew?”

“I think he did. I found this information in the files Romanoff dumped online. I know you concealed them from everyone and were decrypting them privately and that you did not have enough time with Ultron and all the mess to decrypt them all. I found out because I was specifically looking for them, or rather information on Barnes. It was among those files… So I think Rogers knew.”

“I know we never had the best of the relationships but I considered him my friend. How can he do that to me Bruce?” Tony was shaking once again. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that this would happen. Steve was a nuisance but he was also a friend. Will these people ever stop betraying him? 

Bruce hugged him even tighter. He was glad that Bruce did not offer any false reassurances. There was nothing that could have been said to lessen his pain. Well, there was one thing, Bruce can offer to bury Steve’ body when he ends him but he knew Bruce was totally anti-killing. 

Tony was grateful of his support. He did not know what he would do without Bruce. Or how long it would take Steve to tell him. Was he ever going to tell him? He doesn’t think so. 

~*~

“I have to go back. Ross has given me 36 hours to catch their sorry asses.” 

“Tony, are you sure that you won’t make any rash decisions? Maybe you should sit this one out. Also, Ross does not have any authority to give that order. Not after you have signed the Accords.”

“I know, but the local Government has the right to dispatch their units to fight them and they are not capable of dealing with two super soldiers without sustaining damage themselves. They can’t shoot Captain America either. And Cap won’t let any harm come to Barnes. So I have to be there. Not for Ross but for the local officers. And you know there is no way that I am not going to sit this one out.” 

Bruce already saw this coming but he did not want Tony in the vicinity of Rogers, not if he could help it. Unfortunately, he could not help it. He was sure, unless provoked more, Tony won’t go for Barnes’ head now that he had the time to process everything. Same could not be said for the case of Rogers though. 

“Ok, we need to be prepared. Who do you think we are going to face?”

“We? No, no, no, no. You know I don’t want to drag you in this mess. You are staying here. We can’t have League against Avengers. I need you to be here to deal with public fallout. This is going to affect the stock prices. And I believe you would like to contribute… I am sorta thinking about trashing Rogers’ reputation? For what he did…”

“You are evil.” Bruce said with a laugh. “I’ll stay behind to deal with media and have a plan ready. But I am calling Clark. You are gonna have Superman on standby in case something goes wrong. Before you start about League and Avengers, this is not about Avengers. Rogers is not an Avenger, not anymore. 

He is a fugitive and public is not likely to swallow Iron Man taking in Captain America. There is only one superhero who is as big on truth, justice and American way as Captain and that is Superman. At least in the eyes of the public. He will be on standby and later on will give a statement or two regarding Rogers’ arrest.”

“So you want Supes to be there because people like his spandex clad muscley ass as much as Rogers’ perky booty. Is that so?”

He got a blank face in return. 

“Just tell Supes not to intervene unless it is a total must.”

~*~

Scott was in heaven. He could not believe that he was standing before Captain America. Captain America! Can you believe that? Captain America needs his help. Scott Lang’ help! He had read comics on that guy. He even had a Cap Bear and a Bucky Bear. 

Moreover he got to touch Captain’ muscles. They are unreal man, unreal. Don’t tell anyone but he also peeked at Cap’ ass. Delectable! That Hawk Guy has great arms too. Don’t forget that Homeless Hobo! By the car. He has a metal arm? And that Bird Guy, what was his name? Eagle? Ostrich? Falcon? Or was it Phoenix? Damn what he wouldn’t give to have a fivesome with these dudes. It’s a real life fantasy, man. He’s tellin’ ya. Maybe he’ll take payment in sexual favors. Hope won’t mind… hopefully.

And there were two ladies. Widow and Witch. Witchy Widow? He had seen them. Scary. He’d have fun with them too but both of them are likely to kill him. So nah, pass.

“Before we move forward Mr. Lang, I need another favor. Sam here told me that you can get small and that you know a little bit about mechanics? Can you do something about Wanda’ collar?” Steve pointed towards Wanda. They needed her help. That collar needs to come off. It does not mean that he was not skeptical though. It sounded sketchy when Sam had told him that this Ant Guy can shrink. Future is weird but he knows he is adaptable, he will take this in stride too. He is very considerate of his team, his subordinates. 

“Sure man, it’s no biggie.” Scott would do anything Cap asked him to. 

So he shrank and got to work.

~*~

“You have been a complete idiot, dragging in Clint and hey! What happened to that collar?” Tony broke off his speech. He could not believe it. How the hell Steve Half Mind Full Crack Rogers managed to do it? 

.  
.  
.

Rhodey is falling and he knows he won’t be able to reach him on time. He is feeling so so so scared. Oh God, his best friend is gonna die, all because of him. He shouldn’t have dragged Rhodey into this mess. What he is going to do.

He could see the ground approaching. He is going to be late.

And suddenly War Machine stopped or rather Superman came on the scene. His entry was as dramatic as it could have been. His cape was billowing and Rhodey was in his arms, safe. 

Tony felt dizzy with relief, his best friend was safe.

Superman put Rhodey down and from the corner of his eyes he could see Wilson flying off to save his ass. “Are you alright? Is anything hurt?” Superman asked what Tony wanted to ask but could not bring himself to. He was speechless with relief. His thoughts were a jumbled mess. 

“I’m fine. Just a little bit out of breath. Where did you come from though?” Rhodey could have kissed Superman in that moment. His life was about to end, if he survived, he was sure he would not have been able to walk. Superman just saved not only his life but also his career.

“I was on standby in case something goes wrong. You have to excuse me for a bit but I have to capture the ones who managed to run away.” With that Superman took off.

He came back as soon as he took off, with Sam Wilson in tow who was dangling by the back of his suit grasped in Superman’ hand and looked ready to faint. And once again went back to catch Rogers and his One True Brainwashed Assassin. A sonic boom could be heard in distance.

~*~

They- Tony, Rhodey, T’Challa, Vision and Superman (also Ross was there too, but who is counting vermins?) were in the same room where Ross had given him 36 hours to catch Rogers. Rogers was now under custody and so was Barnes. Superman had gotten them. Vision had taken the Witch and Tony had knocked off the spies. 

Tony had sent that Spiderling back to New York. He did not want him to be punished for incomplete homework after all.

“Can you explain what you were doing at the airport Superman?” Ross asked. He did not like the alien. He did not like him for his power, that he could not control him.

“Apparently, saving the life of Colonel Rhodes and aiding in the capture of the fugitives, Mr. Ross.” The feeling was mutual.

“Who gave you the authority to do so? You should not have been there without my explicit permission.”

“I had already talked to United Nations regarding the matter and it is not you whose permission I needed for this. You are not fooling anyone Mr. Ross. And oh! The President as well as UN, both had been informed of your involvement in this mission, of the fact that you misused your power and some suspicious intel had been found about you? I heard.” Can Rhodey still kiss Superman?

With a huff Ross walked out of the room, not without giving everyone stink eye. He needed to do something to cover his ass. Fucking vermin.

It was silent for a couple of minutes, a totally awkward silence where you would rather get out of the room, the one where you feel like cringing for no apparent reason and suddenly Tony’ StarkPhone was ringing. It was the special ringtone for Bruce.

“Hey love.” Tony felt the tension leaving a bit.

“Tony, Lois came with Superman and she just found out Barnes did not kill T’Challa’ father. He was not behind the bombing. And yes there are super soldiers in Siberia.” 

And his headache came back full force.

~*~


	2. Steve Rogers is the Stupidest Person Ever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve really had it coming. And Everett Ross is seriously done with this shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You wanted to see Superman kicking Captain Stupid' ass, so here it is.

He thought he did it. He thought he succeeded in saving Bucky but the arrival of Superman ruined all of his hard work. He will never admit it but it was embarrassing, how Superman took a hold of the back of his suit when he tried to run and he couldn’t move an inch. How all of his strength failed against the alien. How the alien insulted the greatest hero America has ever seen. 

Superman had taken a hold of his suit from the back as he tried to run away from the plane which was stopped by the alien. All of his efforts of running had failed. But he was saved by his friend. Bucky had also attacked Superman and startled, he let go of Steve, not that it mattered much. Seeing the opportunity, Steve growled, “You should mind your own business and let us go.” And readied his shield to attack.

But he could not attack.

Before he could swing the shield, Superman focused his heat vision on it, making Steve drop it. Superman kept his power focused, heating the shield. He came closer, lifted the shield and gave a low hum, inspecting it. Then he looked into Steve’ eye… and ripped the shield apart.

“So you were saying?”

Steve felt air leave his lungs. It felt like his life was flashing before his eyes. He was flabbergasted, enraged and lost. He never thought it could be possible. Losing the shield felt like losing a part of himself. 

He was also offended. How dare the alien do this atrocious act? Didn’t he know the value of the shield? He slighted Captain America’ honor, the very man who is symbol of everything America ever stood for. He is a legend and a lowly refugee alien went against him. 

So he charged. He ran at that filth in his top speed. As he came into contact, Superman flicked his wrist and… he was knocked out. 

~*~

And now he is in jail. They put Captain America in jail! How preposterous! This is why he is against the Accords. They helped an alien stop him from saving his friend, an innocent man. The same man who ripped his shield apart like it was nothing. He doesn’t think he will ever forget that moment for the rest of his life. 

The Accords aided men like Ross or T’Challa or even Tony against the true sufferer, Bucky. He had not expect Tony to do this but he is clearly influenced by that Bat. The Accords clearly are a tool for the rich to exploit the poor. 

Now he is behind bars along with his friend and his subordinates- the rest of the Avengers and that Ant Guy. Natasha had seen the light in the end but Tony took an offence to that and put her in jail too. He can’t believe Tony sometimes. He shouldn’t have trusted him. He should have known from the beginning that Tony is not a good subordinate. He is not fit for the Avengers. He should have trusted Natasha’ analysis of him.

But now there are more pressing matters at hand. The other Winter Soldiers are a great threat. They have Super Soldier Serum running through their veins and that psychiatrist is going to set them loose. He should have been out there, defending people, saving their lives.

~*~

After Steve properly (not really) got over his inner monologue, he noticed the state the others were in. Especially what they had done to Wanda. Her hands were tied down in a strange suit like bindings and she was in a catatonic state. Tony is such a monster, he should have anticipated Tony stooping to Ross’ level. The prison was almost circular, giving him a look at all of his subordinates if they come close to the bars of their prisons and right now they were close.

“We need to get out of here.” Steve said.

“Out of here? It’s impossible without help from outside. This is fucking RAFT. Stark put us in RAFT out of all of the places. I am going to kill him the first chance I get.” Clint sneered.

“What is so special about this place?” Scott asked, wondering what can get a response like this from a former SHIELD operative. 

“RAFT was a prison facility of SHIELD to put their most dangerous criminals in. It is in middle of an ocean. No in, no out.” Natasha spoke. They messed up, she messed up. She is getting rusty. She should have learned her lesson after Stark threw them out of the Compound. 

“Don’t worry people. We were doing the right thing. The public, the people will support us, their protectors and soon we will be out. The world needs us. Besides, Tony has always been the bad guy.” Steve spoke confidently. “And then maybe it is time for us to deal with Tony for once and all.”

“Aren’t we getting ahead of ourselves?” Everett Ross said as he swept into the room like he was waiting for this moment to make an entrance. 

“Let us out Ross. You don’t know what you are doing.” Steve’ authoritative voice was so irritating and internally Ross wondered how Tony Stark dealt with Rogers. 

“Oh I do. But I am not so sure about you. You pissed off a lot of people Rogers. The world is crying for your blood. You won’t be getting out for a long time. And if I were you I’d stop babbling nonsense. Everything that comes out of your mouth is getting recorded and you are digging your own grave by dreaming of taking down Tony Fucking Stark out loud”

“The world loves Captain America. And soon people will see that we were doing the right thing. By the way, everyone needs to realize what kind of menace Tony is. He needs to be controlled.”

“Oh god someone save me. Has anyone ever told you that you are stupid and annoying? First off all shove that righteousness somewhere it never has to see the light of the day ever again. It is not very becoming of you. And get your head out of your ass. Mouths aren’t supposed to spew shit. You are a criminal Rogers. Get. It. Through. Your. Thick. Skull.

Secondly, don’t tell me nobody has told you what kind of stupid idea it is to mess with Tony Stark. He is basically the darling of the world.”

“Will people stop saying that? Tony is not that big of a deal. People hate him. And they will hate him even more for tearing Avengers apart. The world needs us. But the world does not need Tony Stark. He is a wild card and a liability. It is not that hard to take him out. He is nothing without his suit.”

“Delusion runs strong in you, doesn’t it? The world can do without Steve Rogers or Captain America or any of you lot. Despite what you believe you haven’t done much for the world. But Tony Stark? He is in a different league entirely. Seriously man, give up.”

At the look on Rogers’ face, Ross added, “You know what, let me dumb it down for you and I hope to god that you understand and that I haven’t wasted my breath. Tell me, what is your skillset Captain? Or that of your teammates? What you have done for the world? Or how would you reply to who is Captain America and his teammates? How would you introduce yourself along with your contribution to the world?”

“I am American military and a super enhanced individual with great skills in armed and unarmed combat. I am a great tactician and a field commander. I am also great at strategy. I have fast speed, agility, a great memory. I have saved the world from HYDRA twice, and four times including New York and Sokovia. My teammates also have great skill sets. You won’t get better resume than ours.”

“Wanna know where Stark’ ‘You-Know-Who-I-Am’ introduction came from? He makes many public appearances and his introduction was so big that it would take a lot of time for the announcer to announce him. So once, he interrupted his own introduction and simply said, you-know-who-I-am. He fully deserves this introduction.

He has genius level intellect and he holds god knows how many patents. He is one of the smartest people in the world. He is a businessman and in many instances, an entrepreneur. Wait a minute, you don’t even know the difference between a businessman and an entrepreneur. Huh! He made Stark Industries a multi-billion dollar world giant from a small company. He is a fucking tycoon. 

He has a lot of political power as a former weapon’ manufacturer and by simply being rich. 

Oh, next time when you address him, use Doctor Stark in place of Mister Stark. He has four doctorates. He still holds the record of being the youngest person to get a Ph.D. from MIT. He has broken god knows how many Guinness World Records. He can speak English, French, German, Italian, Mandarin, Russian, Japanese, Hindi and after Afghanistan and Thor learned Urdu, Arabic, Farsi, Norse. There are rumors that he also knows Latin. 

As for what he has contributed to the world, he employs tens of thousands people. His foundations have given a lot of scholarships to young aspirants. He donates money at the time of natural disasters. He has done a great deal for the underdeveloped countries. 

He is the leading expert in technology, clean energy and what not. He saved New York, not you. He was the only one trying to make reparations after Sokovia. People notice things like that. So do the high powers. He has hell lot of political goodwill than you can even imagine.

America may think of you and your teammates as heroes but the rest of the world thinks that of Tony Stark, not you.

Tony Stark is the name that instills the fear in all the terrorist organisations of the world after what he has done to the lot of them. Same goes for HYDRA after Washington. They don’t fear Captain America or even Iron Man as much as they fear Tony Stark. You exposed HYDRA but he almost obliterated them. 

So if I were you I’d choose my enemies wisely. Don’t mess with him. You know who he is.”

Steve was shaking his head at Ross with a disappointed look on his face. “Ross, don’t be fooled. It’s all a front…”

And Ross tuned out rest of his speech and his cronies’ speeches too which followed shortly after, all the while thinking what he had gotten himself into and praying for someone to get him out of there.

~*~

“So, the situation might be even more messed up.” Tony spoke to the room after his conversation with Bruce. Why can’t he get a break? Sometimes he wishes that Steve stayed a popsicle. His life would have been much easier without Steve and his cult. 

“What do you mean by that Mr. Stark?” T’Challa asked.

“Remember when Steve was going on about some psychiatrist and more of his One True Brainwashed Assassins? Well Barnes was first version of Winter Soldiers HYDRA Edition. And they are in Siberia. Also, that psychiatrist Helmet something was behind your father’ death Your Royal Kittiness.”

“Are you saying I was going after the wrong person all this time?”

“In a way yes, because Barnes was not behind the bombing and in a way no, because at the end of the day, they broke law.” 

Tony did not like T’Challa’ expression when he heard this news. He really did not like it.

~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Steve really had his ass handed to him but he still does not understand how wrong he is or that you should not mess with Anthony Edward Stark.
> 
> As for Superman breaking Captain America' shield, this is fiction so I did what I wanted to happen for a long time- someone to tear it apart after I saw Steve hurting Tony at the end of CA:CW. Maybe Superman can tear it apart or maybe he can't. Who knows but here he is a BAMF.
> 
> And this is only the beginning of kick-assing for #TeamStupid. Because #TeamRichDudes have a lot of planned for them. 
> 
> Lastly, thank you so much for all the reads, kudos and lovely comments and your constructive criticism.


	3. The Reporters Part 1

As Tony went back to Leipzig, Bruce got to work.

He knew he had to do a lot. So first of all he got into contact with Clark and sent him to Germany. The next thing he did was to call Lucius Fox and Pepper Potts. Their discussion was definitely exhausting but also pleasing. After all he will get the chance to take his sweet, sweet revenge, the vindication he had been waiting for since Natasha Romanoff first set foot in Stark Industries.

They also had to deal with the Board of Directors and the public fallout. The stocks will take a plunge if public chose Cap’ side. They immediately called a meeting with the Board of Directors, a joint meeting with Legal and Public Relations following right after that.

But these meetings were mainly for public’ sake. For personal vendetta, Bruce made calls himself. Or in the case of the first person in this list, got his private jet readied.

~*~

Christine Everhart had a long a day. The only thing she wanted was a long, relaxing bath and a cuddle on couch with her cat. When she came out of the bathroom after her bath, the doorbell rang. She gave her couch a look full of longing before she went to open the door.

There was no one, except a huge basket, filled to the brim with chocolates and an expensive looking bottle of wine with unpronounceable name. There was a note stuck to it.

At first she thought it was Jack, the guy who had been asking her out for weeks and was bound to get the beating of his lifetime, that, or a harassment lawsuit. But then she looked at wine and dropped that train of thought. There is no way Jack could have afforded this.

She picked up the basket and went inside. It looked so beautiful that she did not even want to touch it but she picked up the note. A smile stretched on her face after she read it. Her day is going to become even longer but it is so going to be worth it.

_“The personal jet is waiting for you and a list of questions have been emailed to you. You might want to take a look at that._

I’ve _heard Germany is a great place to be a reporter these days._

_-Bruce Wayne.”_

~*~

After Leipzig, Bruce called a press conference of his own, on the behalf of Wayne Enterprises and Pepper Potts was there on the behalf of Stark Industries. This press conference was only for the sake of company, the usual to reassure people that all of the shit is under control.

He mentally groaned when he saw Vicki Vale among the reporters. She had it out for him since he refused to date her. They had not gotten along since then and she had made sure to write loveliest articles about him every chance she got. She is his J. Jonah Jameson. She gave him a smirk as she saw him taking a seat at the panel, Pepper at his left.

“Good afternoon everyone and thank you for coming on such a short notice.” Bruce gave his press smile as lies kept coming out of his mouth so smoothly. “This press conference is to reassure that Stark Industries and Wayne Enterprises, both stand on the side of law.” Pepper continued. “We fully support Iron Man and Sokovia Accords. We understand the requirement of accountability. Moreover…” Before Bruce could say more, Vale interrupted, “So you stand against the national icon Captain America, Mister Wayne?”

It bugged Bruce that she interrupted him and totally ignored Pepper. From the corner of his eye he saw a minute downturn of Pepper’ lips, one which everyone else missed. Maybe Vale didn’t miss that either, as her smirk stretched even more.

“You aren’t supposed to interrupt people when they talk Ms. Vale. It is supposed to be a part of this forgotten thing called Manners.” Bruce gave a pout, which to everyone was just him being Bruce Wayne but Vicki gulped nervously. She didn’t know why but Bruce Wayne has always ticked her. There is something wrong with that guy.

“Anyways, we stand with the law. It is high time these superheroes accept accountability. If the so called national icon can’t accept it then yes, we do. We need to take a stance.” Bruce then pretended to look at the empty cards in his hand, as if what he is speaking was written on them.

“Despite the 26% drop in the SI stocks and 15% drop in the WE stocks?”

This time it was Pepper who answered, “Yes Ms. Vale. You see, when Doctor Stark decided to shut down the Weapon’ Division right after Afghanistan our stocks took a 54% dive. He did that for accountability. When the Joker had attacked the fundraiser thrown for the late District Attorney Harvey Dent, WE’ were down by 29%. When Mandarin fiasco happened stocks SI stocks plunged by 42% and WE stocks by 21%. Sokovia saw 39% drop for SI and 26% drop for WE. So we have dealt with the stock drops before and survived. In all the scenarios this was the minor price we paid. We are supporting the right cause and we stand by it. No matter what.”

This resulted in a quite throughout the whole room which lasted for a whole two seconds. Then hands were up in the air once again. Bruce pointed towards a random person to ask the next question. “Andrew Summers, Daily Bugle. Mister Wayne, you stand against the hero Captain America but what about the resident menace Batman?” This prompted the present Gothamites to give him a stink eye. After Bane, he was the beloved of Gotham. Nobody can talk about him like that.

“Batman was one of the first members of Justice League to sign the Accords. By the way, who named the team? Justice League, they sound like a cult. Boring. Next question please.” Bruce answered in his usual airhead manner.

“James Kyle, Fox TV. Are you really going to let people call Captain America a criminal?” Same question as Vale, just differently worded.

“Yes, because Captain America IS a criminal now. You think he is innocent? Tell that to the Governments whose borders he crossed illegally. Tell that to the families of six officers who died, three who are critical, seventeen who got hurt because a certain someone forgot that humans are not meant to be hit by a Vibranium shield or the families of four civilians who died and nine who were injured due to the tunnel collapse?” Bruce really hates Fox.

Bruce was ready to snap by the time the conference came to an end. He knew the likes of Fox, Daily Bugle or Gotham Gazette (or rather, Vicki Fucking Vale) are going to side with Captain but he was sure they had given the others some things to think about.

~*~

Influencing the public opinion is a tricky thing. It becomes even worse when the person you want to crucify is a beloved national icon. Leading a successful smear campaign is no easy thing. It has to be calculated to the core.

Rogers himself had pissed people off by his actions. Now Bruce needs to add fuel to turn the smoldering fire into a raging one while simultaneously defending his and Tony’ companies. He had already started damage control part of the plan. As for tarnishing Rogers, the man himself is making it somewhat easy.

The next Ace in his sleeve is already on her way to interview one of the most famous mutants in the world, the Wolverine himself.

~*~

“Hello Mr. Howlett. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me.” Sally Floyd greeted. She had been following ‘Civil War’ very closely. She is one of the most famous reporters of the Mutant community. When Bruce Wayne had called her asking if he could schedule an interview with Logan for her on the issue of Civil War, she had jumped for this opportunity. She knew what Wayne was doing and to be frank, she approved.

“Please take a seat Ms Floyd.” Physically she gave a professional looking smile but mentally she was wondering whether it was his Adamantium claws that had the ability to cut through everything or was it that impressive jawline that did the wonders.

After all the pleasantries were done, they got to the matter at hand, the interview itself.

“Mr. Howlett, you said you wanted to talk about the impact of Accords on the Mutants, so let us start with what do you think of the Accords?”

“We need them. The Accords are not only an oversight but offer protection to the ones who are under its jurisdiction. But there are also things that need to be amended. Like the case of local heroes who wish to keep their identities hidden, but what if someone tries to impersonate them? It would be hard to impersonate the likes of Spider-Man but a lot can copy Canary. The situation of Mutant Rights is tricky too. Usually Mutants, Metas are confused with each other and they have so many different powers. It’s tricky to enact a perfect law in one go, especially when it is international and has so many variables. But despite all, Accords are welcomed.”

“So are you against superheroes hiding their identities?”

“No, not at all. But there is a lack of communication between superheroes and the authorities. This needs to be bridged. I believe with proper communication things might be better.”

“What are your thoughts regarding the recent tragedy of Nigeria?”

“Nigeria? It wouldn’t have happened had Rogers abided by law. And what was he thinking? Bringing an untrained Enhanced? That girl can’t control her power and she went on field! Rogers shouldn’t have asked her and she shouldn’t have agreed. Irresponsible Enhanced like her… this resulted in the deaths of many and all super powers are hated even more for the actions of a stupid woman.”

“And her passionate speech at the conference after Nigeria?” Floyd steered the conversation for even more Maximoff bashing.

“The one where she was spitting nonsense about controlling her own fears? And the one where Rogers was going on and on about collateral damages?” Logan asked for confirmation.

“Yes, the same one.”

That conference was organized by Tony and they were supposed to apologize but it all backfired spectacularly. Not only they did refused to apologize, they did not even see how any of it was their fault. And made sure that the whole world was aware of this fact.

“Jean Grey. She was a great person.” His voice shook a little bit as he recalled her. “She… she had immense power. She was one of the most powerful Mutants I have ever known. Just like Maximoff, she could not control her powers. Unlike her though, she tried her all, she gave her all so that she would not hurt anyone accidently. Her mistakes were many, but she owned up to them, maybe too much. And here is Maximoff. No control, no shame, no responsibility. It is beyond me how she became an Avenger. A terrorist is an Avenger! She is the reason why many lost their lives and people distrust all types of Enhanced because of people like her.” Jean’ death will never stop haunting him. But Maximoff? What he wouldn’t give to claw her eyes out.

.

.

.

After a couple more questions Sally left and immediately briefed Bruce. She did not expect Logan to open up about Jean Grey. Her death resulted in a huge media fallout but Logan never talked about her. Until now. Though she can see why he did that.

~*~

Bruce was content with how the things were going on. The others are now in jail, he had played his part as Bruce Wayne, Sally and Logan had helped him greatly, Everhart is on her way to chew Rogers out and most importantly a true powerhouse was working behind the scenes, who is ready to rip all of them a new one- Lois Lane.

~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not satisfied with how it all turned out but I just... ugh this chapter got me bad! I hope the next one is better.
> 
> Sally Floyd is a reporter in Marvel Comics. She interviewed Cap in Civil War comic. Here I had her interview Logan. Also I used Hawlett as his surname. 
> 
> I just wanted to say that the Dark Knight Rises happened in my version of canon but Bruce was not as stupid as he was shown in the movie. He was a badass here.
> 
> Lastly, thank you for all the reads, kudos and comments!


	4. Zemo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> None of the characters belong to me.

When T’Challa heard that Barnes was innocent, his heart stopped for a second. He went after the wrong man. How could he have done that? He made such a huge mistake. In his anger, he let go all the rationality. And now Barnes is paying the price for his impatience. He must do something as soon as possible. He vowed to himself that he will break out Barnes the next chance he gets. He owes the man.

When these thoughts were going through T’Challa’ head Tony Stark’ AI, FRIDAY alerted them of something. Stark took out his phone out of his pocket and FRIDAY activated the hologram. It was a video, released recently on a YouTube channel and it was gaining views at a lightning speed. 

It was Zemo.

~*~

“Hello peoples.” The man in the video gave a shark like smile, teeth bared. “I am Helmut Zemo. I am here to show you the reality of your heroes. The heroes who killed my family. The heroes you worship. But no more. I can’t let this go on anymore. 

I was waiting for them to arrive. In Siberia. So I could show Tony Stark something. But no! He didn’t come. They never do, not when they are supposed to.” He took a deep breath, like he was collecting himself.

~*~

It was not making any sense, what this man was saying. It seemed like the man- Helmut Zemo himself did not know what he was saying. No, not that. It looked like he knew what he had to say but he did not know how to say, what words to use. This moment felt important for the man. But his intentions did not seem like they were any good. Or maybe they were. He wanted to reveal a truth? T’Challa thought that if it is something nasty and if it can hurt people then by all means the world deserved to know. No matter if it is about Avengers.

He saw Stark’ hands shaking. Why were they shaking? Had he done something? He was sure it had something to do with the man. He changed his stance a little, just in case Stark decides to flee the scene. Rhodes also saw this motion. He took the phone in his steady hands and gave Stark a concerned look. Stark seemed to be in a daze.

What is going on?

~*~

“Anyway, I am from Sokovia. AND THE AVENGERS KILLED MY FAMILY.” His face crumbled from the pain. “They killed my family. Just like they had killed the families of many more. They brought Ultron at our doorsteps. We were caught completely unaware! And then we waited for them to rescue us. No help came. Yes, they saved some, but they killed even more of us. You worship these so called saviors. Do you know they have a traitor among them? They are not so champions of truth and justice as they appear to be. Not all of them.

They have red in their ledger. How can you admire the likes of Widow, Barton or Maximoff is beyond me. Who is going to be next? Looking at the things… What? Had Osama Bin Laden been alive, would he be a member of Avengers? 

The liars are members of the team. Some are openly liars and some hide behind the mask of truth. Disgusting, the lot of them. I spit on you, I fucking spit on you!”

~*~

It was completely jumbled. Like he was talking about more than one thing. He had a grudge against them, it was clear to see. But what traitor? What is going on?

T’Challa looked at Stark once again. He was shaking even more. He was starting to suspect that Stark knew what Zemo was talking about. Was he working with the guy?

No, can’t be. He looked angry. And there is no way in hell, he would sabotage himself like Zemo was hell bent on, from the looks of the things.

This was way beyond his understanding. He wondered if this is the way things happen in the outside world. If this is the case, then he would take Wakandan council’ wrath over this confusion and chaos any day. 

Any day.

~*~

Then a sadistic smirk appeared on his face. He looked crazy. Maybe he IS crazy. Who knows?

“Before we go further, I would like to apologize to Tony Stark. He got dragged into this mess but it had to happen. I am sorry.” Then he fiddled a little off camera and a video started playing.

Tony Stark was in it. Loki’ scepter was casting a glow on his face.

It was the Sokovian Mission where Avengers had retrieved the scepter from the Hydra base which was run by Strucker.   
.  
.  
.  
The implications of the video were horrifying. Wanda Maximoff was the one who compelled Tony Stark to create Ultron. She was responsible of the deaths of thousands. At least indirectly.

But it was nothing compared to what the next video unveiled. 

It was night time and the camera was a little blurry but despite that it seemed like the video was in highest quality. The image of Winter Soldier killing Howard Stark was not something anyone can see without vomiting. The pleas of Maria Stark could be heard. But the Soldier paid no mind to them. He was on a mission and there had not been a mission he had ever failed. 

“Whoa! That sure was something. Guess who knew about this? Yes, yes, yes, your beloved Captain America and Black Widow. Moving on, I have done you guys a favor. So I found out there were some Winter Soldiers who were put under cyro in Siberia. The Avengers were supposed to come here but meh! Change of plans. I can ruin them from here too. This video works, innit? As for Winter Soldiers… Well, I killed them. You don’t need to worry about that. See! I can be helpful too. Wait, does that mean I am a superhero? Since I saved a lot of people. Ha! 

Don’t try to find me. You won’t succeed.

And well, adios!

I hope you liked this gift.

~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So so so sorry for the late update and short chapter. I am not happy with how some things turned out. Because college has picked up and I have been stumped with all the work.
> 
> Also there is a lot of point of view change but this was how I imagined it. 
> 
> A random thought, I was watching my country' version of Fear Factor and I wondered how Avengers would fare. What if Tony surprises them all because he had been training with Batman? Haha I am way too ahead of myself.
> 
> Lastly but most importantly, thank you so so so much for all the reads, kudos and comments. They never fail to put a smile on my face. Have a nice day/good night!

**Author's Note:**

> I am going to split this installment in many parts. This part mainly covered the movie (without the airport fight, oops) but from the next part things will be drastically different and we might even see Bruce taking his sweet revenge, maybe like he mentioned in Opinionated.
> 
> And did you see the trailer of Thor: Ragnarok? It was LIT. Hulk like raging fire and Thor like smoldering fire. My Loki baby looked so good. I loved him. Tho he looked strange when he and Thor were firing laser guns... he looked CGI? Still, the trailer was a blast.
> 
> Lastly and most importantly, you guys are amazing. Thank you for all the reads, kudos and comments. They made my day. You are loveliest.


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